Saturday, September 26, 2015

Review: The Last Thing He Needs by J.H. Knight

Synopsis

Tommy O’Shea is raising his seven younger brothers and sisters without any help from his drug abusing father and stepmother. Since he was fifteen years old, he's managed to keep the children fed and out of foster care. It takes up every ounce of his energy and the last thing he needs is romance complicating his life further.Rookie cop Bobby McAlister doesn't belong in Tommy’s harsh world, but Tommy can’t push him out. As their unlikely friendship turns into a tentative relationship, they weather the daily storm of Tommy’s life with a lot of laughs and more than a few arguments.Tommy isn't used to trusting outsiders, and he's never asked for help in his life. But when a tragedy strikes the O'Shea family and threatens everything he's fought for, he'll have to learn to do both to recover from the brutal hit.

Lisa’s Review

The Last Thing He Needs by J.H. Knight is the first book in her series with the same title. What a wonderfully touching and emotional book this turned out to be! I could not help falling in love with both Tommy and Bobby, our two protagonists. These two men, definitely from two very different worlds, suddenly find themselves thrown off course all because they discover one another. It may have not been the greatest timing, particularly for Tommy, but walking away was also not an option they wanted to contemplate.

Tommy O’Shea is the oldest of eight children. To say that his life is hard would be an understatement. Tommy has taken the reigns when it comes to raising and caring for his siblings. With a drug-addicted and selfish father and step-mother, he has had no choice but to step up and do anything and everything to keep his family together and his siblings out of foster care. Since he was fifteen years old, Tommy has had the responsibility of his siblings on his shoulders. He’s weary and tired, lives day to day, but knows that he has to keep going.

Bobby McAlister is a rookie cop. He went to high school with Tommy and often comes around the O’Shea house for various reasons, usually when there is a domestic disturbance because of Tommy’s idiot father and step-mother. Bobby and Tommy strike up a tentative friendship. After all, Tommy is not one to let people in to his harsh and crazy world, trust does not come easily for him. However, there is something about Bobby and he slowly worms his way into not only Tommy’s heart but the hearts of all his siblings. Will Tommy be able to fully embrace his relationship with Bobby and accept the help that Bobby is so willing to offer? Bobby is drawn to Tommy and his siblings. Can he continuously be there for the O’Shea family when life keeps knocking them down?

“I’m a mess, my family is a mess, my life is a mess, and if I weren’t a selfish bastard, I’d tell you to run. I’d tell you to forget we ever knew each other, but Jesus, I don’t wanna do that. I’m not easy, and I’m a pain in the ass, but if you’re willing to stick around, I’m willing to try”

I loved how Tommy and Bobby simply fell into one another - the insecurities, the awkward beginning, the desire, the passion. It was all there and so realistically done. Let’s face it, how many of us start lasting relationships effortlessly and flawlessly? Anything real and worth it is always going to be messy, mistakes will be made and the awkwardness is simply part of it all. Tommy is at a time in his life where his responsibilities are certainly more than he can handle and starting a relationship with someone should be far off his radar. But the connection he feels with Bobby is not one he can ignore. Tommy was reluctant to let Bobby in, scared of somehow corrupting the perfect golden boy. This is a character-driven story that definitely packs an emotional punch. There was definitely angst! I loved how Bobby was unwilling to give up on Tommy no matter how harsh and standoffish he could be. He truly was determined to prove to Tommy that he was there to stay for the long haul despite the uncertainty in their relationship. Amidst Tommy’s chaotic and hectic life, can both men hang on to one another without causing the other to fall?

I really did enjoy reading The Last Thing He Needs. It is a beautiful tale about embracing love even when it comes at you at the most inopportune time in your life. When I finished the book I had a huge smile on my face. That is the sign of a wonderful romance, a book that leaves me happily sighing. This is my first book by J.H. Knight and it most certainly will not be my last.

“Tommy understood in one fraction of a heartbeat every love song he’d ever heard, every dream he was afraid to have, every memory of anything good that had ever happened to him. It was all wrapped up in Bobby. He was the music, he was the dream, he was the love, and…he was the hope.”